Carolina Fever President Resigns in Protest of CAA

After CAA Cabinet members voted to reduce the spirit group's basketball seating by almost half, former President Davin McGinnis charged CAA with disrespect for Carolina Fever.

He said Carolina Fever, a division of the CAA designed to support all UNC varsity athletic teams, deserves more recognition than the CAA Cabinet gives.

"I was upset that CAA didn't listen to me at all when I told them what Fever did for Carolina athletics," McGinnis said. "The reason I quit was to show support for Fever -- I couldn't work for a Cabinet that didn't work for me the way I worked for them."

The dispute between the CAA Cabinet and Carolina Fever began several weeks ago, as the two groups struggled to determine the allocation of seats for Carolina Fever members. Last year Carolina Fever received about 250 tickets for each home basketball game, but this year the group was only given 169 tickets.

McGinnis said his problems with the organization intensified when the CAA Cabinet denied his final appeal for seats.

"I don't think an extra 30 seats is at all too much to ask," he said. "The cabinet as a whole is not as supportive of Carolina Fever as they should be."

McGinnis cited several examples of how Carolina Fever had been inspiring to teams, including a recent showing of support for the women's field hockey team in its match against Old Dominion University.

But Pruitt said he was pleased with Carolina Fever's efforts. He said McGinnis' resignation did not change his opinion of the group's current level of commitment, and that no changes needed to be made as a result.

"There's nothing to change right now -- we're extremely pleased with the support of sporting events that they have been going to this year," he said.

Senior Anna Kroncke, former vice chairwoman of Carolina Fever, has stepped up to take McGinnis' post. She said she looks forward to leading the organization despite her disappointment with the allocation of seating. "It's really a closed deal at this point, and we have to make the best of what we have," she said. "We're going to have a great block out there and be wild, but we're not going to try and get more seats or anything."

Both Kroncke and Pruitt attributed McGinnis' resignation exclusively to time constraints such as his job and schoolwork. "The debate had to add more strain, and we understand that," Pruitt said. "But he just doesn't have the time right now to give the position what it deserves."

But McGinnis said his decision to step down was almost entirely to show support for Carolina Fever.

"The burden of what they've done to Fever hurts me and shows a lack of respect for me, and I can't work under that," he said. "Maybe 20 percent of it is because of my schedule, but the other 80 percent is because I just couldn't work with that Cabinet anymore."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.